(from Douglas Hogg)
2025 Bugatti Aerolithe Concept By Douglas Hogg, Coventry University
Graduate, now a designer at Ford Motor Company

HISTORY

Ettore Bugatti was the
founder of Bugatti cars and in many ways the ultimate perfectionist.
He believed his cars should be the best in the world and constantly
strove to make them the fastest, lightest and most luxurious cars
possible. "Nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive" was
one of his guiding mantras. Together with his son Jean, they were a
world leading force in premium automobiles. Many believe that
Ettore’s engineering genius and Jeans visionary styling reached
their collaborative zenith with the 1935 Aerolithe prototype.

The original Aerolithe
was unveiled at the 1935 Paris motor show and was the instant star
attraction. It looked like nothing else - Its elegant, highly
aerodynamic styling and super lightweight construction was years
ahead of its time. Such was the reception the Aerolithe received
that 1936 a production version was offered as the legendary Type 57
SC Atlantic, of which three exist today and sell at auction for
around $40 million. As for the Aerolithe, it disappeared sometime in
the late 1930’s. To this day no one knows for sure its fate.

The 2025 Bugatti Aerolithe – The
vanguard of a new wave of intelligent Luxury.

‘Super luxury’ Grand
Tourer for 2025, inspired by Ettore Bugatti’s principles of
automotive design, the original Aerolithe, and the theme
‘aerodynamic elegance’.

Key themes; Extravagant Graceful
Sporting

The new 2025 Bugatti
Aerolithe concept represents a return to the brand values and
holistic attitude of Ettore Bugatti that made Bugatti cars so great
– simplicity, beauty and intelligence. The new Aerolithe takes theme
and style inspiration from the lightweight original and re imagines
it as a futuristic and exclusive GT car for 15 years in the future -
the vanguard of a new wave of intelligent luxury.

The typical buyer of a
new Bugatti is the man who has it all. He statistically already owns
8+ cars, A boat and/ or a private jet. He can afford to choose to
buy the very best in everything and the Aerolithe was designed to be
the best grand tourer money can buy.

The dramatic styling is
an exercise in pure surfacing. It references the original with its
elegant proportions and split windows, whilst carving out a new
design direction for Bugatti utilising clean, unbroken surfacing and
advanced aerodynamics. The main bodywork is completely smooth,
uncluttered by external mirrors, door handles and clunky spoilers.
The lines are inspired by organic forms, science fiction and the
original 193 Aerolithe. Up front, the signature Bugatti ‘Horseshoe’
grill in is a direct ram air intake to the turbine engine, whilst
the headlights apertures in the front double up as cooling ducts to
cool the brakes. At the rear, the boot lid features two jet fighter
inspired pop up air brakes to stabilise the car under braking,
whilst the rear lights also double up as cooling ducts. Advanced
technology integrated so harmoniously into the clean bodyshell that
you would never know it was there.

Underbody aerodynamics
are a key feature of the Aerolithe and allow it to have such clean
styling. Two air channels run the full length of the underbody of
the car directing air from the front, around the almond shaped
cabin, back to the massive double diffuser at the rear. This
generates enough downforce to keep the car firmly glued to the road
at speed without the need for any visible rear spoiler.

The Aerospace inspired
split canopy doors of the Aerolithe concept are a stand out feature
designed primarily to allow easy access to the cabin, but also to
generate street theatre when the car pulls up. Each side opens
independently of the other, and splits into a top and bottom half.
The bottom half of each door tucks under the sill, whilst the top
half swings up and forwards taking with it a massive swathe of
bodywork and the whole dashboard. The steering column can then raise
into the space left by the door, giving an enormous aperture to
allow users of all shapes and sizes to easily get in and out.

The polished aluminium
centre spine is a key styling and construction feature. It
references the riveted central seam line of the original and
develops it into a key structural component running throughout the
interior and exterior. Beneath the sensuous carbon fibre bodywork is
a highly efficient and dynamic mechanical package. The Aerolithe
features titanium, magnesium and composite materials throughout to
keep the weight down to around 1400kg. The passenger safety cell is
bullet proof, with Aluminium Oxynitride windows. Driving a one
million pound car you never can be too careful.

Propulsion is provided
by an advanced Microturbine battery hybrid drivetrain. Microturbines
are an emerging technology that will see great use in the automotive
industry in the coming years. They are compact, lightweight and
highly efficient. They can run on almost anything that burns
–petrol, diesel, kerosene, alcohol, even perfume. In the Aerolithe
the Microturbine functions only as a generator with no mechanical
link to the wheels. Its only function is to generate electricity to
charge the batteries on the move. In general terms, the Aerolithe is
an electric car. The Microturbine engine is a range extender for the
batteries, giving a theoretical range of up to 800 miles on one tank
of fuel with minimal harmful emissions.